REMOTE STAFF MANAGING WORKLOAD

In times like this, when you never know when another pandemic may hit and affect your business working, outsourcing staff is a saviour for corporations and entrepreneurs. Today businesses are hiring virtual assistants and outsourcing staff instead of spending more on traditional corporate office buildings as that is much more beneficial. Virtual assistant companies and remote staffing have eased them of the daily menial administrative duties, and now they can focus on bigger goals.

REMOTE STAFF MANAGING WORKLOAD

But have you ever wondered how these remote virtual assistants and the work-from-home staff manage the workload while keeping up with their clients? The answer to the question is an easy one- Technology. Yes! It has done marvels for remote virtual assistants in 2022. Remote staff hiring in India has increased as companies use more and more Indian virtual assistants who can work effectively using some essential software tools at their end. Companies looking for virtual assistants are outsourcing staff to India because it does not just save them operations costs but also Indian virtual assistants and WFH staff can be easily tracked and managed from their locations. All this is possible because of the tools that help virtual assistant companies and freelance personal assistants perform their tasks in a businesslike manner and on time with lowered costs.

Hence, in this blog post, we will take a quick look into some topmost essential tools that help remote staff and WFH virtual assistants lessen their job.

●       Time Management Tools

Toggl Track

Getting real-time data on how quickly the virtual assistant is getting the work done or how much time your virtual secretary takes on a single task helps you keep track of what has been working for you daily, weekly, monthly, or yearly. Toggl is one of the tools with many features in their free version too. It even comes with a browser extension for Chrome and Firefox. Their tools Toggl plan and Toggl track, help in project planning and continuous reminding of time taken on the task. With unlimited time tracking, Pomodoro timer, Idle time detection, and many more, this app is becoming a choice amongst general admin virtual assistants.

Rescue Time

Get rid of all distractions. Yes, it is one of the goals for remote staff and freelance virtual assistants that ultimately leads to maximum productivity and a happy client. Rescue time is software designed for Virtual PA or teams who want to monitor their time while focusing on tasks that demand attention on a high scale. With features like blocking websites that cause distractions like social media, it helps concentrate on the tasks you need to complete. Rescue time provides virtual assistants with a detailed report based on the particular focus session. The best thing about this software is that it will alert you if you spend too much time outside your task as it keeps track of your activity and observes your computer usage. 

●       Scheduling Tools

Calendly

Would you like to miss a planned meeting with your future client? Of course not. Is it hectic going back and forth on emails and coming across a suitable time for a meeting with your client? What if I say, as a remote virtual assistant, you can now concentrate on your top priorities and leave appointment scheduling to the software Calendly? Calendly is an automated tool that lets you schedule all types of events. It can also integrate tools like outlook and Gmail. Even in its free version, a freelance virtual assistant can fix meetings and events according to the time available in their zone through this simple app.

World Time Buddy

As a virtual assistant, you are working remotely and keeping track of time becomes difficult. Time zone is one of the issues that remote staff confronts. World Time Buddy is an uncomplicated and advanced software that accounting and bookkeeping virtual assistants use to perform in multiple time zones. You can schedule meetings and events online across the globe with just a click on the tab. You can avail of many features in the free version and upgrade for full features.

●       Accounting & Bookkeeping Tools

Xero

Companies prefer remote staff hiring in India for Bookkeeping virtual assistants and Accounting virtual assistants. It helps them cut expenses while they delegate the most crucial job of their firm. Virtual assistants need tools that maintain the privacy of their clients while they get the job done. Xero is a robust tool that helps virtual assistants send invoices to their clients, helps keep the finances updated, lets virtual PAs keep track of bill payments, connects banks easily, accepts payments, and more. For virtual assistants, Xero is a software that quickly stores files on cloud computing and handles accounts on the go. 

QuickBooks

Virtual assistants need a solution to automate their chores and delegate accounting to make the function slightly less delayed. Keeping books up to date for the client with hundreds of software promising you to help, it becomes confusing to choose the best. But virtual assistants have a preference when they arrive at the right software. Through QuickBooks, they can effortlessly track the income and expenses of their clients. It is a time-saving tool that can handle reports and export them smoothly. Through electronic invoicing and automatic email invoicing, this job has become a cakewalk. With automated data backup and the advantage of running more than one company file, QuickBooks is the first choice for

virtual assistants and bookkeepers.

●       Password Management Tools

Google Spreadsheet

Businesses are going online, and most of your job when you become a virtual assistant revolves around privacy and password protection. In that case, you need a tool that helps you keep your passwords safe and separate. Google Spreadsheet helps virtual assistants keep sensitive information for multiple clients secure and available in need. Password managers can help keep track of login details without any hassle. It is a basic tool to set up and is manageable when it comes to backing up and securing your data.

LastPass

WFH virtual assistants need software that provides all-encompassing features and relieves their task of accessing clients' sensitive data. The most secure way to do that is LastPass. It has features like autofill, password vault, password manager, LastPass authenticator and much more. LastPass makes the strongest passwords stay in the safest place. For remote virtual assistants for bloggers, instant login to websites are a big time saver. Generating stronger and long passwords for your client and saving them securely in a vault without remembering them is what LastPass will do for you. With security challenges and random strong passwords, it makes virtual assistants' jobs a lot more suitable.

●       Communication Tools

Slack

For smoothly running your business as a virtual assistant, you must communicate effectively with your client. As virtual and remote staff, a clear share of messages brings easiness to the process. You can now face-to-face with your client whenever you require to reach them. With communication tools like slack, remote staff hiring is not that remote anymore, and outsourcing has become a cherry pie. Slack gives your virtual assistant and team members the feature to communicate in the most organised way possible. You can easily pin your messages, manage and track documents that need attention, share workspaces with other team members, and much more.

Microsoft Teams

Microsoft Teams is a communication platform for remote staff that allows them to communicate through audio calls, video calls, and one-on-one messages. It also helps in scheduling meetings. For virtual assistants sharing files in real-time is an important feature that Microsoft teams provide. Along with features like Assistant bots, channel-based working, and integration with third-party tools, it also has screen sharing and together mode. These features make it unique. Team Connect helps virtual assistants share channels, and the tabs feature makes it an interactive tool. As a software, it is the finest choice for clients who frequently communicate with their Virtual Secretary.

To sum it up, the tools we have recommended above are helpful to all the virtual assistants and staff working remotely. As a result, you will be able to work smarter and not harder. We have been functioning with these tools and have seen the invaluable help they have delivered while we worked during bookkeeping and maintaining accounts for our clients.

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